The US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has pledged an additional US$1 billion in reconstruction aid to Afghanistan.
Speaking in the capital, Kabul, Mr Powell said the money would be on top of the $1.2 billion already committed to Afghan reconstruction.
The pledge will be made officially at a donors' conference in Berlin later this month.
Mr Powell was on a brief visit to Kabul as a major American-led operation continues against al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters on the Afghan-Pakistan border.
